This wine has both spicy, smoky taste

At a recent tasting, a woman asked me what were my current favourite reds. I told her I have many. I always say that, along with a little lecture on different wines for different moods. She did not buy it. “Come on Billy, there must be one!”

The best way to get out of these situations is to turn the tables. So I asked, “What’s your current favourite?” Her face lit up. “Yes, I have a favourite. It’s Goats do Roam and I love it because I can have it with or without food. I drink it all the time.”

I told her she had good taste and said I had highly recommended Goats earlier in the year. And that I might mention it again as it has also been pleasing me a lot as of late.

I’m loving Goats’ spicy flavours, vitality and great drinkability. It’s rich but also feels lighthearted. Just a wonderful hot climate rendering of the Côtes du Rhône style. It’s a wine that goes well with everything, even food — just as the woman said. As with most South African reds, there is a little smokiness that echoes flavours of the barbecue.

• Fancy a tribe of goats? LCBO Vintages department is offering white Goats in last Saturday’s release. It’s rich and very quaffable. Check out my other recommendations for this Vintages release and upcoming wine events on my website www.billysbestbottles.com.

Billy Munnelly is author, wine critic and publisher of Billy’s Best Bottles Wineletter and Billy’s Best Wines For 2007, a guide to the best wines at the LCBO, available in bookstores or through www.billysbestbottles.com. Sign up for his free wine e-letter at www.billysbestbottles.com.